Luis Fonsi defends Justin Bieber for not singing Despacito remix live

Luis Fonsi has defended Justin Bieber’s decision not to sing the Despacito remix on tour.

The Latin popstar released the original Despacito, a collaboration with Daddy Yankee, in January (17), but it became a global smash months later when Justin recorded both English and Spanish-language verses for a remix, which was released in April and topped many charts around the world.

Due to the popularity of the track, which has been number one on America’s Billboard Hot 100 for five weeks so far, Justin was asked to sing it during his set at Summerburst Festival in Stockholm, Sweden earlier this month (Jun17). But a fan threw a water bottle at him when he refused, due to his unfamiliarity with the lyrics.

Luis has now come to Justin’s defense, insisting the lyrics would be tough for the 23-year-old to remember because he doesn’t know Spanish.

“I don’t blame him not knowing (the lyrics), and I think we have to give him a little bit of a pass because that’s not his main language,” Luis said on ABC News Radio. “We can’t expect the guy to just out of the blue get it perfectly.”

He also praised the Canadian singer for choosing to record a Spanish verse when he had been given the option to do it in English.

“He had the lyrics in front of him,” he continued. “He had a chance to record the chorus in English. We had a full English lyric, and he decided to take the time to record it in Spanish because he wanted to keep the originality of the song… So I actually applaud the fact that he took the time in the recording studio to do it and he did a good job.”

The Sorry singer once had a go at performing Despacito live and he became the subject of ridicule after it became clear he didn’t know the words. Video footage taken from New York hotspot 1 OAK in May showed Justin jumping onstage as the song played but instead of singing the Spanish lyrics, he repeated, “blah blah blah” throughout the chorus.